Charles Percy Dixon (7 February 1873 – 29 April 1939) was a male

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player from Great Britain. He was a four-time Olympic medallist and led a successful British team to victory in the Davis Cup.

Biography

Dixon was born on 7 February 1873 in

Grantham, Lincolnshire Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London he won a bronze medal in the men's doubles event. In the 1912 Summer Olympics he won three medals in the indoor tennis events: gold in the mixed doubles, silver in men's singles and bronze in men's doubles. From 1929 to 1932 he represented the International Club of Great Britain against France at

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

and at Auteuil in 1932 and 1933. After retiring from tournaments, he coached juniors and umpired at Wimbledon, becoming President of the Umpire's Association. He died on 29 April 1939.

Tennis tournaments

Dixon was born in 1873, the year that Major

Walter Clopton Wingfield Major Walter Clopton Wingfield (16 October 1833 – 18 April 1912) was a Welsh inventor and a British Army officer who was one of the pioneers of lawn tennis.Tyzack, AnnThe True Home of Tennis''Country Life'', 22 June 2005J. Perris (2000Grass ...

defined the first rules for lawn tennis. Dixon reached his first all comers final at Wimbledon in 1901, beating

Harold Mahony Harold Segerson Mahony (13 February 1867 – 27 June 1905) was a Scottish-born Irish tennis player who is best known for winning the singles title at the Wimbledon Championships in 1896. His career lasted from 1888 until his death in 1905. Maho ...

before losing to Arthur Gore. A decade later, in 1911, Dixon reached the all comers final again, beating Major Ritchie and

Max Decugis Maxime Omer Mathieu Decugis or Décugis (; 24 September 1882 – 6 September 1978) was a tennis player from France who held the French Championships record of winning the tournament eight times (a French club members only tournament before 1925) ...

before losing to

Herbert Roper Barrett Herbert Roper Barrett, KC (24 November 1873 – 27 July 1943) was a tennis player from Great Britain. Biography Barrett was born on 24 November 1873 in Upton, Essex. At the London Olympics in 1908 Barrett won a gold medal in the men's indo ...

. He won the doubles with Roper Barrett in 1912 and 1913. His career included victories in international tournaments overseas include the Ostend International tournament (1905), the Doubles at the Championship of Dieppe (Championnat de Diepper) (1908) won partnering with M.J.G. Ritchie In the UK he won the Surrey Championships (1911) on grass, defeating

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

in four sets. He also won the Dulwich Farm Hard Courts on clay at Dulwich four times from (1909–1910, 1912–1913). He also won the Drive Club Tournament at the Drive Club, Fulham that was played on hard cement courts three times (1908-1910). Dixon was better known at the time for his many successes when representing Britain in the Davis Cup: starting in the 1909 Cup in Philadelphia, he led the British team to victory in the 1912 Cup in Australia. He was also a member of the English Drive Club team in South Africa in 1910–1911. He won the 1913 Doubles title at the Russian Open Tennis Championship, partnering Albert D Prebble, and was runner up in the singles.The early Russian Lawn Tennis Championships (1907–14) by Mark Ryan

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (3 titles, 1 runner-ups)

Other sports

He represented Haileybury and Cambridge at racquets, winning the silver medal in 1891. He was also a keen prize-winning golfer, and represented Britain in international

fencing Fencing is a group of three related combat sports. The three disciplines in modern fencing are the foil, the épée, and the sabre (also ''saber''); winning points are made through the weapon's contact with an opponent. A fourth discipline, ...

in Paris. His brother, J A Dixon, was captain of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club. In 1897 he married Louise Robinson, and until his death they lived at Chestnut Road, West Norwood. He died on 29 April 1939 in

West Norwood West Norwood is a largely residential area of south London within the London Borough of Lambeth, located 5.4 miles (8.7 km) south south-east of Charing Cross. The centre of West Norwood sits in a bowl surrounded by hillsides on its east, ...

, London. After cremation his ashes were buried nearby at the Robinson family plot in

West Norwood Cemetery West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery. One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Charles 1873 births 1939 deaths Australasian Championships (tennis) champions Burials at West Norwood Cemetery English male fencers English racquets players English male tennis players English Olympic medallists Olympic bronze medallists for Great Britain Olympic gold medallists for Great Britain Olympic silver medallists for Great Britain Olympic tennis players of Great Britain People from Grantham Tennis players at the 1908 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 1912 Summer Olympics Wimbledon champions (pre-Open Era) Olympic medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles Medalists at the 1908 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics British male tennis players Tennis people from Lincolnshire